Alaska, Day THREE - Hello Juneau!

Good morning, Alaska!  As you can see we aren't in Florida anymore.  It was F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G!  I mean mind numbing cold.  Wasn't it cute that I thought a hoodie would be enough as I woke that morning?

I have to say that the beauty and splendor surrounding us made the cold bearable.  The skies, the sea, the boat all worked together to make this morning a forever memory.

Our ship is part of the caribbean fleet in the Alaskan winter months and it just struck Scott and I as funny when we saw warm weather activities posted.  

If you click on the picture you will see that they tell you topless sunbathing is fine, but you can't go bottomless.....what?!

We are standing on the top of the deck at the front of the ship looking back.  

Look at that arctic sky!

Look mom no hands!  The winds were so strong it was hard to walk.

Is that land ahead?  It sure is.  Stay tuned to see what awaited us....

We did not arrive in Juneau until 2pm so we spent our morning casually sipping coffee, reading, and playing rummy.  Oh how we loved the game room.  

We decided to run down to our room to look at the approaching landscape from our balcony.  We were so excited to step foot onto Alaskan land for the very first time.

Leather jackets, thick socks, warm shirt, we're ready to go!

But not before I made Scott pose for pictures.

Yes!  Those are mountains behind us.

Those grand mountains were covered by clouds and it was a sight to behold as we stood on deck and took it all in.

Welcome to Alaska

The mountains are huge and the water was smooth as glass

I loved the little remote cabins we saw along the banks of the inlet.

Juneau

Our sister ship travelled before us, The Norwegian Spirit

Getting ready to go see our first glacier

Loving the history of this capital city.  The store fronts look just like they did back in the 1800's

Stopping to take in the beauty of the Alaskan rain forest

Celebrating our love through discovery

All aboard

Our first stop, Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center.

Posing in the rain.

They had wonderful rangers who gave you history, facts, and information.  I was saddened that you could tell most of their worldview comes from evolution.  How can you not see GOD when you see the absolute beauty of HIS CREATION?

There she is, Mendenhall Glacier.  The ice was blue.

We so desperately wanted to hike to that beautiful waterfall, but our bus stop was only 45 minutes.

It worked out though, because it was about this time that I realized something serious was going on physically with me.  Chills, upset stomach, and later that night a high fever would come into play. (Stay tuned to hear how the Lord rode across the heavens to heal my sick body)

Goodbye Juneau and Mendenhall Glacier.  We will never forget you!

Alaska Here We Come - Day TWO

We woke early on Monday morning and this was the view from our breakfast dining room....breathtaking!

This is the view from our balcony.  We loved watching the sky light up in HIS majestic splendor!

I just had to show that the plannerpad even worked while on vacation.  We were able to pick and choose the events we wanted and then scheduled them out each day.  I love my plannerpad no matter where I am.  (Are you guys getting sick of my plannerpad love affair?)

The food on board was out of this world.  Norwegian truly outdid themselves in almost every area.

Scott posing with their old man hat.  You can't see the grey hair very well,.

We went to a lecture about our destination Skagway.

We then stayed for the lecture on glaciers.  It was great.  I learned lots of new grammar.

This is the hallway to the theatre.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but you can tell by just this view that it was very opulent.  Though on this day we attended classes we also saw comedy, music, and magic shows.  Their entertainment was phenomenal.  

That afternoon I went and had sushi while Scott worked out.  It was so peaceful to sit and read and just relax.

There is no way to articulate the beauty of what we were seeing because you can't explain what your other senses were taking in at the same time. 

 Cool crisp air.  Fresh fragrant smells.  Quiet except the sound of the waves hitting the boat.  

After a morning of quiet reflection we decided to shake things up a bit with fun!  We tricked our boys into thinking we got tattoo's to commemorate our 25th wedding anniversary.  (In truth they were just spray on's...hehehe) 

A lot of our scheduled shows and activities took place in the Spinnaker Lounge located at the top of the ship.  

We took turns between using the elevator and the stairs.  

Scotty showing me his tattoo

We played, Name That Tune and lost

At night they turned down our beds and left us fun little towel animals.